8th Wall is introducing the latest addition to its suite of Human AR web tools, Hand Tracking. With these new tools, developers can create applications that track hand, wrist and finger movements for more immersive WebAR experiences.
The hand model goes just past the hand to where a watch or bracelet is typically worn. Dozens of attachment points and an adaptive hand mesh allow developers to fine-tune the experiences they create.
“Our adaptive hand mesh dynamically creates a personalized mesh of each user’s hand to enable objects to be appropriately attached to that hand,” explains 8th Wall in a recent blog post. “This feature allows developers to create experiences that automatically scale to fit the user’s approximate hand size and volume.”
Up to seven attachment points per finger
8th Wall’s new adaptive hand mesh includes 36 attachment points across the wrist, palm, fingers and knuckles. With up to seven attachment points per finger, developers can control the position and rotation of virtual items held in or attached to the hand. The attachment points also hasten development time.
With hand-tracking tools, a variety of new experiences are available, such as virtual try-ons, special effects and immersive interactions. Hand tracking allows developers to create AR experiences that the user controls by moving their hands. Being able to pick up and interact with virtual objects enables the user to feel as if they are within the virtual space.
Likewise, hand tracking can also be used for hand masking. Hand masking or puppeteering transforms a user’s hand into something else, like a monster’s hand or foam finger. The user then controls the movement of the new object by moving their hand.
Using hand tracking tools, developers can also create special effects such as shooting laser beams from the user’s fingers or allow users to virtually try on watches, bracelets and rings. Developers new to 8th Wall qualify for a 14-day free trial to try out the new hand-tracking tools before committing.
Jack Brassell is a freelance journalist and aspiring novelist. Jack is a self-proclaimed nerd with a lifelong passion for storytelling. As an author, Jack writes mostly horror and young adult fantasy. Also an avid gamer, she works as the lead news editor at Hardcore Droid. When she isn't writing or playing games, she can often be found binge-watching Parks & Rec or The Office, proudly considering herself to be a cross between Leslie Knope and Pam Beasley.
